"Let's do as you say!" Ge Long found it feasible and immediately made the decision, his tone resolute. "I'll personally oversee the frontal feint. At dawn every day, the army will form up outside Guard City's south gate and put on a show like we're about to charge their lines. The bigger the commotion, the better!"
Over the following days, the same scene played out inside and outside Guard City every day. At dawn, the Heaven Dou army formed up for a feigned attack, their war drums shaking the skies, yet they never crossed the five-li boundary.
Meanwhile, Chen Chu's squad hid by day and moved by night. After burning supplies, they cut off water sources, throwing Star Luo's supply lines into complete chaos.
Star Luo's high-level Soul Masters were run ragged. Several times, they tried to push deep into the forest to wipe them out, only to be driven back by the combined attacks of the lurking Spirit Beasts and the hidden Heaven Dou troops, suffering severe losses.
Unable to advance across the Pamir Plateau, the Star Luo Empire's emperor faced even greater pressure at home. The expenses of maintaining the border army over such a long period were no simple matter. Voices throughout the empire had begun demanding that the border army produce results quickly, or return to court and end the war.
The commander of Star Luo's border army, Dai Jiangong, was an eighty-second-level attack-type Soul Douluo. A veteran general, he had long been Ge Long's rival in the Heaven Dou Empire. At this moment, he sat in the command tent with a troubled expression, pondering a solution.
Of course, their generals were present as well. "Everyone, Your Majesty's urgent decree has arrived. He is questioning why, after several months, we are still lingering at the edge of the Pamir Plateau without advancing a single step. He asks whether we are reluctant to leave the ground beneath our feet!"
Faced with Dai Jiangong's questioning, not a single general below dared speak. They all understood the enemy's strategy, but none of them could come up with a good solution.
Seeing the atmosphere turn cold, another old general seated first on the right could only speak helplessly. "Marshal, the enemy's style of operation bears Ge Long's mark, but this strategy does not seem like his. However, there is one thing we can be absolutely certain of."
The old general paused, picked up a wooden pointer, and indicated the sand table. "Heaven Dou is huddled inside Guard City, relying on favorable terrain to drag us into a war of attrition. They want to wear us down."
"To break this deadlock, there are only two options, but both come at a tremendous cost."
After saying that, he looked at Dai Jiangong and waited for his response. He was Your Majesty's man; if he gave his approval, then should anything go wrong, he would take the lead in bearing the responsibility.
Dai Jiangong naturally understood their concerns. He nodded. "Go on. Having a solution is better than having none."
Only after receiving his approval did the old general continue. "The first method is the decapitation operation we use most often. Have Your Majesty send a Titled expert, or have the three of us infiltrate Guard City and kill Ge Long. Once the enemy is leaderless, they will collapse without a fight."
"But the risk is enormous. I hope the Marshal will consider it carefully!"
It was nearly impossible to ask Your Majesty to send a Titled expert, so most likely, it would fall to the three old men to risk their lives. At his age, if not for the sake of his descendants, he would never have returned to the battlefield.
Thus, what he wanted most was the second method. "The enemy is huddled inside Guard City, clearly lacking the confidence to engage us in a strategic decisive battle. But they have always been like this. Since they refuse to fight decisively, then we will take some risks and make our soldiers suffer a little. Press the entire army forward and force them into a decisive battle!"
Dai Jiangong heavily jabbed a finger at Guard City's position on the sand table, his expression icy. "Then we will force them into a decisive battle! Pass down the order: beginning tomorrow, the entire army will advance and establish camp three li outside Guard City. Shield bearers will form three lines, the Soul Master corps will move to the front, and the siege cannons will be brought up. At midmorning tomorrow, begin the siege on schedule. The entire army will attack the city—hold nothing back!"
The generals beneath the tent changed expression at once. The deputy general on the left could not help but advise, "Marshal, three li is too close. Heaven Dou's ballistae and cannons can cover us directly. Our soldiers' casualties will..."
"Casualties?" Dai Jiangong abruptly raised his eyes. Eight Spirit Rings of an eighty-second-level attack-type Soul Douluo lit up around him—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black—their pressure making everyone's breath catch. "Your Majesty wants results! If we drag this out any longer, the entire army will have to return to court to answer for our crimes!"
The old general silently retreated to one side. They were gambling that the Heaven Dou army could not withstand the assault and would be forced out of the city for a decisive battle. They were gambling that Ge Long's army could not sustain defenses across the entire front. Yet what he had not said was that some unusual incidents had recently occurred among the soldiers.
The next day, as soon as dawn broke, Ge Long saw the Star Luo army advancing in a dense black mass. Their shield formations resembled moving walls, Soul Masters were distributed among the troops, and even the siege cannons usually kept in the rear had been pushed to the front lines.
"Good, they came!" Ge Long gripped the saber at his waist. "Pass the order to every gate: have the cannons target the gaps in their shield formations. Use the ballistae on their rear-line Soul Masters. Do not let a single man get near the walls!"
War drums thundered as Star Luo's first wave began its siege. Attack-type Soul Masters charged at the front through cannon fire, desperately smashing their Soul Skills against Guard City's walls, sending shattered stone flying.
Agility-type Soul Masters led soldiers onto scaling ladders, climbing the walls in an endless stream under cover of smoke. In an instant, the moat was filled with corpses.
Ge Long stood atop the wall, his gaze blazing. Whenever Star Luo's offensive was at its fiercest, he personally took action. Once he unleashed his Sixth Soul Skill, Earth-Splitting Dragon Roar, swathes of Star Luo soldiers below were blasted away. The powerful fluctuations of the Soul Skill made the enemy's high-level Soul Masters hesitate to approach rashly.
"General, the east gate is under too much pressure! The cannons are nearly out of ammunition!" A blood-covered guard rushed over to report, his voice trembling.
Ge Long turned toward the east gate. Thick smoke billowed there, and the sounds of battle could vaguely be heard. He gritted his teeth. "Tell the soldiers to hold on. I'll send reinforcements!"
He still did not know where the enemy's main force of high-level Soul Masters was. Each gate was guarded by Soul Saint-level experts. If he left recklessly and misjudged the situation, it would be a grave mistake.
Ge Long raised a hand and pressed it against the battlement, his gaze sweeping across the smoke signals rising from all four gates. Then he said in a deep voice, "Pass my order: have General Zhang at the west gate lead half the Soul Masters to reinforce the east gate. Tell him that he must hold the east gate!"
Just as the guard was about to run off, Ge Long called him back. "Add one more thing. Move the west gate's reserve ammunition there as well. Coordinate with the death squad and prioritize destroying Star Luo's siege cannons!"
The order had barely been delivered when a tremendous explosion suddenly came from the south gate. Star Luo's siege cannons had blasted open a breach more than a zhang wide in the city wall. Several Star Luo Soul Saints took the opportunity to rush inside with soldiers, while Chen Chu was fighting multiple opponents alone in a bitter battle.
"Damn it!" Ge Long cursed furiously. His Yazi Martial Soul suddenly possessed him, and eight Spirit Rings burst forth—yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black. After activating his Seventh Soul Skill, Martial Soul Avatar, the dragon son Yazi opened its mouth and unleashed a roar, its sound waves instantly hurling the Star Luo soldiers at the breach away. "Chen Chu, hold on! This old man is coming!"
Before Chen Chu could respond, Ge Long had already leaped down from the battlements. His Eighth Spirit Ability, Yazi Heavy Sword, condensed Soul Power as he swung his blade at the Star Luo Soul Saints charging at the front.
That Soul Saint's Martial Soul was an Iron Wall Bear. In his haste, he used his Martial Soul Avatar to block the attack head-on, only to be struck by the Yazi Heavy Sword and forced back again and again, blood covering his body.
"Ge Long! I'm your opponent!" Dai Jiangong's voice rang out from behind the formation. The pressure of his eighty-second-level Soul Power surged across the battlefield as White Tiger claws, tearing through the air with a shriek, struck toward Ge Long's back.
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